Outside the Nokia Theatre box office Friday night, one woman waiting to get
inside was surprised and disappointed after being informed that John
Mellencamp’s concert would be preceded by a movie. Yet the hour-long cut of It’s
About You, a compelling, unusual Mellencamp documentary currently making the
festival rounds, was hardly a letdown.

Narrated by acclaimed photographer/first-time film director Kurt Markus -- who
has helmed music videos for Mellencamp, Tori Amos and Jewel -- it follows the
veteran performer across America during his 2009 summer tour with Bob Dylan and
Willie Nelson and in the process of recording his excellent album No Better Than
This.

A low budget, fly-on-the-wall project shot on old-school Super 8 stock, the
doc’s grainy images include concert and rehearsal footage (few songs are
complete, many utilize odd angles) and glimpses of various towns in disrepair.
Most people at Nokia talked right through it, though regular Mellencamp
followers like myself were very interested; some clapped and hollered as the
live segments played.

Authenticity was the primary goal in making No Better Than This, a
timeless-sounding effort done entirely in mono (it's the first non-stereo
release in 46 years to make the Top 10 on the Billboard 200 chart). While
listening to its blues, country and rock ’n’ roll tunes, you could easily think
it was recorded in the ’50s.

With T Bone Burnett producing (as he did for 2008's equally impressive Life
Death Love and Freedom), Mellencamp along with his musicians and crew laid down
tracks at the First African Baptist Church in Savannah, Ga., as well as
legendary Sun Studio in Memphis and Room 414 of the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio,
where esteemed blues man Robert Johnson once rolled tape. They even utilized
vintage equipment. The lyrics are at times, bleak, optimistic and best
appreciated by those who have, as they say, “lived a little.”

[More...] In Los Angeles, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer took the stage
alongside an electric band to the strains of Johnny Cash’s “God’s Gonna Cut You
Down.” He kicked off his 95-minute set with a revamped “Authority Song,” now
boasting a smoldering rock groove, plus call-and-response action at the end. The
singer’s voice had a grittier than usual timbre, giving the searing Son House
song “Death Letter” (extended and accented here with mandolin, accordion and
violin) and “John Cockers” added heft.

Performing in front of a beautiful city-painting backdrop that included a poster
for the 1963 Paul Newman western Hud (also the name of Mellencamp’s son), the
six-piece group came and went as needed and played with finesse. “Walk Tall,” a
song that debuted on the 2004 greatest hits collection Words & Music, had a
fresh countrified vibe. Perhaps referring to inept lawmakers who can’t balance
budgets efficiently, Mellencamp said a harrowing version of “The West End” was
about “what happens when the government doesn’t take care of people.” Longtime
violinist Miriam Sturm gave a spirited delivery as her boss roared the words.

Another welcome change-up came via the slow, simmering intro to “Check It Out,”
during which the Nokia crowd was up and dancing while Mellencamp worked both
sides of the stage. (The balcony was closed this night but the floor looked
filled.)

“My Dad said you gotta do fun things for yourself,” he noted before the hopeful
“Save Some Time to Dream,” performed solo acoustic. He joked around a bit before
singing most of “Cherry Bomb” a capella, accompanied loudly by fans’ voices.

Burnett, seated with former KCRW DJ Chris Douridas (I also spotted Ben Harper
nearby), went onstage and provided electric guitar for the haunting “Don’t Need
This Body.” Mellencamp did a spiritual rap about the devil before the feisty
“Right Behind Me,” then quoted the U.S. constitution and criticized defense
spending over the welfare of Americans in the lead-up to a plaintive “Jackie
Brown,” where Sturm added weepy strains. The singer also recounted a story about
his late grandmother and prayer on the endearing mortality tale “Longest Days.”

The atmosphere inside really sparked up after drummer Dane Clark moved from a
cocktail kit to full setup and bassist John Gunnell switched from stand-up to a
standard model on a suddenly twangy “Jack & Diane.” Unfortunately, the remainder
of the set was hampered by a muddy mix. Mellencamp humorously ad-libbed a lyric
about his multiple marriages during “Small Town.” A fine reworking of “Paper in
Fire” contained a reverbed guitar sound that recalled CCR’s “Suzie Q.”

Each time band mainstays Andy York and Mike Wanchic would take a solo turn,
Mellencamp looked proud; even more so for Sturm. Troye Kinnett’s supple organ
led the charge on the stomping “If I Die Sudden” -- definitely more fiery live
-- and Mellencamp sang the soulful vocals while hunched over fans in front of
the stage. He invited a lady up to dance and sing on “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.,”
capping the inspired show on a boisterous note. (There was no encore.)

Setlist: John Mellencamp, Nokia Theatre, Los Angeles, April 8, 2011
Authority Song / No One Cares About Me / Death Letter / John Cockers / Walk Tall
/ The West End / Check It Out / Save Some Time for Dreams / Cherry Bomb / Don’t
Need This Body / Right Behind Me / Jackie Brown / Longest Days / Jack & Diane /
Small Town / Rain on the Scarecrow / Paper in Fire / The Real Life / What If I
Came Knocking / If I Die Sudden / No Better Than This / Pink Houses / R.O.C.K.
in the U.S.A.